Happy ending for Levi

April 28, 2007 - Neil Rudel

I don't want to invade the "15 Minutes" territory and I'm sure you'll go back to Ray's up-to-the-pick blog quickly, but some PSU-related notes on what may be the NFL's most entertaining day including the Super Bowl.

*It's nice to see Levi Brown climb all the way to No. 5 (Arizona). Penn State moved Brown from defensive tackle during his redshirt freshman year, and he didn't like it, and neither did many in the Nittany Nation. But the PSU staff thought Brown was a more natural fit on offense. He almost came out after the 2005 season, and he obviously made the right decision. At least from the perspective of Brown's NFL potential, so did the Nit braintrust.

*The NFL is so much about potential since, from this view, Brown didn't have the kind of senior year that most No. 5 overall picks do. He false-started seemingly every game. But he did create running room for Tony Hunt and protected Anthony Morelli well. He's got the size and the smarts and contrary to many of his teammates the last five years, he stayed out of trouble.

*If you're looking for a reason Penn State has lost almost as many games in the past decade than it did in the previous two, one is the fact that Brown is the first Nit offensive lineman since 1996 (Jeff Hartings, Andre Johnson) to go in the first round.

*NFL commissioner Roger Goodell showed some compassion in getting Brady Quinn, whose stock has apparently hit a trap door, out of the green room. Even anti-ND fans had to feel badly for Quinn, who thought/hoped he'd go No. 3 to Cleveland and is now considering ordering takeout while he waits. Rare dumb question from Suzy Kolber, whose dad is a PSU grad, asking Quinn, "what's your gameplan now?"

*Ex-Daily Collegian boy makes good: Mike Signora, who graduated PSU earlier this decade, has climbed the NFL administrative chart and is now on stage and steering the picks to the podium.

*If Paul Posluszny had to slip into the second round, Buffalo should be a good land. It's driveable from the family home in northern Pittsburgh (Aliquippa) and he can get familiar through another former Lion, Shane Conlan, who spent much of his all-pro career in Buffalo. Posluszny and Conlan, who now lives in Pittsburgh, are good friends.